Astralis Sports Director on dismissal: "It's part of the game"

Kasper Straube has commented on his dismissal following Astralis' Major failure and his future.

Astralis announced its decision to dismiss Sports Director Kasper Straube on Tuesday as part of a sweeping set of moves made in the aftermath of Astralis' failure to qualify for the BLAST.tv Austin Major.

In a comment to Dust2.dk, the former director has commented on the organization's decision, accepting it as "part of the game" in a competitive field.

"It's no secret that the ambitions and results in Astralis have not matched. That's why I think it's natural the management has made the decision they have. In a professional environment, we are all constantly measured and weighed," he said.

Straube had been part of the organization for nearly two years after taking over the position from Kasper Hvidt in July 2023.

He oversaw the squad through three of their five consecutive Major qualifier failures and several blockbuster moves that failed to bring the organization closer to its goal of returning to contention for trophies, including the signings of Martin "⁠stavn⁠" Lund, Jakob "⁠jabbi⁠" Nygaard and Casper "⁠cadiaN⁠" Møller, with whom he also worked in his previous positions as HEROIC's physiotherapist and later Head of Performance.

"I'm obviously disappointed that we didn't achieve the results we wanted," Straube said. "The results haven't been good enough compared to the expectations I had, but I'm satisfied with the work I delivered during my time at Astralis."

"I'm at a point where I think I still have a lot to offer," he went on when asked about his future. "You learn your whole life, and I've also learned a lot during my time at Astralis that I can use going forward.

"Whether my future lies in or outside of esports depends a lot on what projects come up. I can certainly see my future in esports, but not at any price."

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